Non talking 18month old! Positive stories needed.....

[Keznel]

DD is 18months old and has been a wee bit late with some of her milestones. She didn't crawl til 12months and only started walking last month. I have absolutely no worries about her intelligence or social skills as she makes good eye contact and smiles, laughs and try's to communicate with pointing/gesturing! She can complete peg puzzles and shape sorting puzzles in seconds and understands what we are saying to her. But she does not say any words not one! She babbles and makes a lot of sounds but with her mouth closed. I mentioned it to my HV who said she would keep an eye on her but wasn't worried as all other aspects are developing normally. She also said a SALT referral wouldn't be considered until she's 2. I guess I would like reassurance, success stories of late talkers, coz I am starting to freak out a bit, with a calm exterior of course!

My elder daughter was late with all her milestones and didn't speak fluently until about 4 or so.

She was referred for speech therapy at the age of 3. She is now 17 and speaks normally. She is also very clever 12 A/A* at GCSE and is applying for Vet School.

My daughter is 14 now, she started crawling at 15 months, walking at 22 months, babbled ALL the time but actual words about 2 1/2-3 years old!!
She is really clever, went to mainstream school until the end of year 4, year 5 & 6 went to a mainstream school with a special needs unit attached-joined the mainstream school for her maths lessons.
From year 7 has gone to a special needs school & we have just had parents evening for her & been told that she has been put in for GCSEs or Entry Level exams, where there is no GCSEs in those subjects, for ALL of the subjects she is taking!!
My DD was a late starter with her milestones but she had more or less the correct amount of time between them/reaching the next one!!

My DS (now 5) didn't start talking properly until between 2.5 to 3 years. The HV didn't seem too concerned at his 2 year review although he was hardly speaking a word. She rang me when he was 2.5 and his speech had improved so she was happy.

We went on holiday with my parents around his 3rd birthday and that's when he decided he was going to start talking properly. he just seemed to wake up one day & do it. Now he never stops talking from the minute he gets up to the time he goes to bed !

Both my DC weren't speaking at 18mo (they were signing though).

They never bloody shut up now.

At the time the HVs said they weren't going to even notice until age 2, and you wouldn't get a referral until more like 2.6/3.0.

Hope things work out for you soon.

I wouldn't worry at 18m - DS only had about six words until he was 2.2, then suddenly it was like he 'got it' and hasn't shut up since (now coming up for 3). I feel like he was just waiting until he was sure of himself and then he let rip. He did the same with walking.

zuleikaD that sounds exactly like my DD! It was like she knew how to walk but didn't do it until she was absolutely sure she could do it well, she would cruise the furniture at lightening speed and walk with someone holding onto just one finger, and did this for about a month before she confidently walked off on her own. Maybe she's just waiting until she is totally confident before she attempts a word Thanks for all your replies it's always nice to know you're not alone in these things.

Enjoy the quiet!!!!
My DD wasn't talking at 18 months but now (2.4) I can't shut her up!! She didn't really start until about 2, it's only been about the last month that she's started putting sentences together and some of the stuff she comes out with is absolutely hilarious :)

Which part of the country are you in?
My daughter has been referred to SALT at 15 months, although I think this is because her verbal understanding is poor, rather than them being worried about her lack of speech and she doesn't use gestures. She has also been referred to audiology. If you're really concerned, you could maybe push for a referral although if she is communicating with you in other ways, the speech will probably follow soon. I have a friend whose son didn't speak until he was around 3 and he is really intelligent and articulate now.

thatsnotmyhamster yeah she communicates in other ways and understands what we are saying. I'm pretty sure her hearing is good too as she can hear the direct line advert come on the TV from three rooms away!! She'll come running to watch it the red line fascinates her. That's great that your DD is getting referrals I hope it all works out

Ha ha that's also my daughter's favourite advert! In fact she likes pretty much any insurance advert - probably more worrying than her language issues!! Thank you

My daughter is 18 months and sounds exactly like yours, inc puzzles etc but no speech other than sounds with closed mouth. I have just self referred to SALT and was given an appointment for an assessment in Feb.

If you aren't happy to wait for another 6 months, self refer. :)

does she understand what you are telling her/ can she follow instructions?

do you have any concerns about her hearing? might be worth getting the hearing checked just to rule out hearing issues (e.g. glue ear).

For your own peace of mind insist on a referral. My friend's DD is now almost 5 and speaking fluently but at 18m was similar to yours... I suggested she get the SALT referral as she could be waiting awhile for the appointment (which did indeed happen). You can always cancel if things improve. Incidentally, friend's DD started talking at 2.5, she went to
SALT when appointment came through and got great advice on what she could do to encourage expressive language.

DS was a slow to speak child too. He had speech therapy and by 4.5 you would never had known this.

He had multiple ear infections as a toddler and looking back I really think the temporary deafness from the infections affected his speech.

My dd was similar to this. At nearly 2.5 she literally never shuts up, and had even perfected sarcasm and irony. She didn't walk until 18 months, crawling was also pretty late compared to many (can't quite recall but around 11 months).

If she seems to hear and understand you, and is verbal (babbling, laughing, playing with sounds) I wouldn't worry. If she was completely mute I would.

Really heartened to read all these positive stories. DS2 is 2.6 & has always been very laidback & on the late side to do everything (crawling 12mos, walking 17.5mos, self-feeding 18mos etc). He also didn't point/wave/clap till quite a bit later than average. He had about 5 words a few months ago, then seemed to 'lose' them for a while, but literally in the last week, he has 'regained' all those words & a few new ones besides, so I would say his total is now at 10 or so. His understanding has also rocketed in the last 4/5 months, as has his pretend play.

He has been under a SALT since August (we've had an assessment plus 4 sessions), who has said he has significant delays, but it could just be his character or it could be something else, so she is keeping an eye on him. He has also had 2 hearing tests since May that have shown him to have glue ear & we have another hearing test in a couple of weeks - I am hoping that if he is shown to have glue ear again there will be some kind of treatment, as I'm sure it won't help speech.

OP, your DC is still quite little, but there are a few things you can do to help:

• Watch out for signs of ear infections & take to GP every time, so that ear problems are recorded.
• Request a hearing test to rule that out.
• Do lots of singing with your DC, groups are especially good & most libraries run story & rhyme time for free.
• Once DC reaches 2 or so, see if there are any speech therapy groups in your area if they are still not talking. We started one called 'Talk with Me' run by the children's centre when DS2 was 23mos & it helped to give us some techniques & encouraged him to make different sounds.
• Encourage any & all communication, including pointing, gesturing, babbling etc

But I'm sure it will all be fine

Dd was very much like this and at 2 only said the odd word, maybe at a push would string 2 together. The HVs weren't concerned at all as she understood every bloody word we said. They were happy to leave her till she was 3 and by that time we couldn't shut her up. She did need some speech therapy when she started school but they thought that it was just a little immaturity in her speech as she had only been talking properly for a year when she started school.

She sound fine. If you are still worried I'd self refer to speech therapy but wait till she's older. In the meantime, teach her a few signs.

My nephew was like this, barely had any words at all till he was 3. He is very bright and now talks constantly from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning. He is also a really good reader and at 8 reads aloud beautifully.

My ds1 didn't start to talk until he was 2yo, then he started with sentences quite quickly. I think he didn't see the point in talking until he had plenty to say! At nearly 5yo he certainly has plenty to say...!

abitannoyed that is so good to hear and well done to your dd

It's encouraging too as our dd keeps saying she wants to be a vet.

My DSister was late with her milestones and has a good career and my dmil keeps saying how DS didn't walk or talk until he was 2 and he has a good career too.

OP like others have said, as long as she understands what you are saying and can carry out simple instructions, I'm sure everything is fine although you may want to get her hearing checked

Apparently I was the same, I only babbled until about 3 years old. My problem was very poor eyesight, when I was given glasses, my mum said I became eloquent overnight and it must have been due to my sight. (sadly have lost some of that eloquence since, but hey ho!)

That's interesting angry as dd has poor eyesight too and her speech has improved dramatically since she has learnt to read! but this also coincided with the getting of glasses, so maybe it was that

Ds1 was the same - late to crawl, late to walk and late to start talking. At 21 months old, he had a vocabulary of about 32 words - and some of those were ones only we could understand - kor-kuck-kuck for helicopter, for example. But he did catch up, and was an intelligent, academically able child.

He is 20 now, in his second year at university reading Law - a subject where you have to be able to do a lot of talking and arguing.

Its very very common I worked in a 18 month to 2 years room in a nursery and lots of children are not speaking much or at all. Bare in mind development often goes in sperts, children can go from seeming behind their peers to catching up over a very short period of time.

confusedofengland some good advice there thanks. Thank you to all of you for replying is just the reassurance I needed. I am not worried about her hearing we were upstairs at the back of the house this morning when DH came in front door and called her (which i didn't hear!) she went running to stair gate to see him. Or she'll be playing in the living room and myself or DH will open the dishwasher in the kitchen (opposite side of the house) and she will come running as she likes taking the cutlery in & out of the caddy! But should things not improve I will definitely get her hearing checked out.

I asked my mum when I talked and she said she can't really remember as in those days they didn't know to worry about these things, they just happened when they happened, so am going to try and relax about the whole thing